Starting the year off on a new note

Happy 2015!

I could get into all the excuses I have for not having blogged in far too long but I won't so I can get to the excitement of being back in the studio after a break over the holidays.

I think January is one of my favourite times of the year in the studio because I get to step back a little bit from the process of running my studio to plan, experiment, play, and make new work for the new year.  I just finished working on my financial year end (ahead of the game by a few months from what I usually do) and it's given me a good picture of where I need to put my energy and time.  I'm still working on figuring out what pieces I sold most and how many I made last year (a first for me!).  All these numbers make my head swim but, at some point, it's a really important way to think through how I work and how to grow in a way that fits who I am, and what my goals are.

Part of this strategy and numbers, planning and playing is coming from starting to work with a Business Manager.  This past year I met with the incredible team from Taendem and felt like it was a good fit for me at this stage in my studio life.  When I started Dahlhaus in 2007 I took a self-employment program, wrote a business plan and had a business coach through the program to guide me for my first year.  Since then, I've been kind of winging it.  Every year I think I might have figured out the perfect balance of wholesale, online sales, studio sales and craft sales, along with hiring more or less help in the studio, spending more or less money on photography or marketing opportunities, saying yes or saying no to the increasing amount of opportunities that come my way, regretting some or learning a lot from being part of something I hadn't anticipated working on.

This intuitive approach of running my studio really came to a crashing halt last January when I fractured my arm in a bike accident.  The day before I fell, I was on the phone with my dad and he had asked me how my week was going.  I told him I felt like I was in a boxing arena, and all these punches were coming my way and I wasn't sure which ones to duck for and when to punch back.  That kind of analogy really hit me hard the following day while I sat in the walk-in clinic, pondering how I was possibly going to work with a fractured right elbow.  Amazingly, with the help of my brand new studio assistant, Janine, I was able to get through a really tough time.

So this year I wanted to start the year on a better footing.  I know that creating a viable, sustainable studio practice as an artist and a maker is a tall order, but I'm willing to give it all I have without compromise.  Well, there's going to be a bit of give and take, but you get the idea.  Here's to 2015, to turning 40, to celebrating 20 years of love with my darling, to having my oldest child become a teenager, and to the wild ride my little studio is on!

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2012

I seem to find New Year's Day a good day to clean up all the Christmas stuff, get the tree out of the house and purge my cupboards to make way for some new things that we got over the holidays.  Not that I've taken off my new 'Major Tom/ Lifetime' sweater long enough to need the cupboard space to put it in, but it felt as though clothing purge was in order. It's been a while since the kitty has been able to sit up and see herself in the mirror on my dressing cupboard. Christmas can seem so excessive: why is it that we always end up with more in our car on the way home from family gatherings then when we left the house?  

So, a new year! For some reason, I'm not ready to get back to the studio this year with full steam ahead.  Something inside of me (plus my low energy level from this cold that's hanging on) is telling me to sit back, take stock, and to think things through before getting back into the grind of the making cycle.  I've decided not to do one of the shows I had been considering for Spring because the dates conflicted with NCECA, a National Clay conference that is happening in Seattle this year.  I've been meaning to go to this conference for years, but either I couldn't afford it or it was happening in the eastern US.  I was hoping to do some sort of residency this year, but my family is still not quite ready for me to leave them for a month or 2.  With that in mind, a weekend conference in Seattle geeking out on clay ought to be a good substitution for the time being.  So that's about as far as my planning for the new year has gone.   

I hope you are having a restful day off- I'm baking bread and have started to clean out the kitchen cupboards now.  It's so nice to be at home.

Winter Wisps

Finding beauty in a sea of brown and gray twigs and branches during the dark, wet winters can sometimes be tough.  It finally stopped raining in time for the weekend so we took the boys on lots of walks, with me bringing along my camera for a nice change.  It's amazing what you find when you look for it- these feathery seed pods for example.  So delicate and lovely! Yet something you would totally miss because they are so small. 
I've been really introspective over the past few weeks.  Mulling over how 2010 went. Brooding over how this year is going to get planned out. Trying to decide which shows to apply for while I go through my year-end accounting and make my 2011 wholesale line sheet for new shops and galleries.  All the while, I'm slowly making my way back to the studio and trying to start the whole process of making once again.  Getting back in the groove after a crazy busy show season is a real challenge.  I'm trying to look for the beauty though.  The wisps of lovely things that are coming my way.  The amazing artists and makers I've been having time to meet with and talk with.  Some of who I am excited to share with you here on my blog... all in good time. 
Hope you have a great start to your week!  H.